Identità a confronto nei testi letterari: dall'immagine dell'Altro all'immagine di Sé

Encounter of different identities in literature: from the image of the Other towards the self-image Summary Taking imagology studies as the starting point, this essay explores the stereotype of the Other, in this case the Italian, which is particularly marked in Serbian literature in the period of Romanticism. Historical circumstances provoked the negative perception of Venice and the Venetians in the minds of South Slavic peoples, which left significant traces in various literary genres of Serbian Romanticism. This is notable in Gorski vijenac by P. Petrović Njegoš, in the short story Kanjoš Macedonović by S. Mitrov Ljubiša, in folk poetry, and even more, in romantic dramas by S. Milutinović Sarajlija, L. Kostić and Dj. Jakšić. This encounter with the Other, the Venetians, is the reflection of the differences between them, mutual inability to accept and understand the world of the other, which often results in the clash with tragic consequences. Realism brings about new paradigms of the same model but with the positive connotation, marked with comic and humorous elements in the novels such as Vukadin by S. Sremac and Hajduci by B. Nušić. In these novels an Italian is no longer a representative of refined aristocracy of The Republic of Venice, but a travelling entertainer, musician and actor; therefore, the authors exploits this clash with Serbian rural small towns in order to criticise primarily the mentality of their own environment and people who are not willing to accept and try to understand the Other. Key words: imagology, stereotype, Venice/ Italy/ the Italian, Serbian Romanticism, Serbian Realism